Despite hard times, Hazel Park fights back, officials say

Hazel Park City Hall employees, police, firefighters and others have taken wage cuts in recent years as the city deals with a declining tax base brought on by the housing crisis of the past several years. City officials say employees and resident volunteers have helped the city survive hard economic times. (Michael P. McConnell/Daily Tribune)

HAZEL PARK – The city continues to face significant financial challenges, but employees and resident volunteers are managing to keep city services going.

That’s the main message Jan Parisi --city councilwoman and mayor pro tem -- sent in the annual state of the city address this week.

It is estimated that property values in the city dropped about 50 percent over the previous five years, though there was a small uptick in home prices recently. That decline has drastically reduced the amount of money the city collects in annual property taxes which fund services from police and fire to roads and sewers.

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“The national foreclosure crisis hit Hazel Park especially hard,” said Parisi, who filled in for Mayor Jack Lloyd to give the annual address. “It has been said many times by Mayor Lloyd that we could not run Hazel Park without our volunteers.”

Parisi, who is a longtime volunteer with groups in the city, highlighted efforts by volunteers who began the Harvest Fest and Art Fair last fall, City Edge Church for constructing a patio at the library, and the Lions Club which bought a defibrillator for the police department and supports park maintenance and college scholarships.

Parisi also praised Hazel Park Neighborhood Enrichment, which has helped with a number of projects from public landscaping to the purchase of batting cages for youth at Green Acres Park.

The city’s volunteer Neighborhood Watch Program is also rapidly expanding.

“Volunteers are also playing a crucial role in protecting Hazel Park,” she said. “Our police auxiliary officer and our Mobile Communications Support Unit continue to donate thousands of volunteer hours every year keeping us safe.”

Parisi singled out new Police Chief Martin Barner for effectively targeting police resources to help reduce crime in Hazel Park.

“I’m pleased to report that Hazel Park was able to show one of the steepest one-year declines in our crime rate in our city’s history,” she said, adding that police are working harder with fewer resources. Police “unions led the way in employee sacrifices this year by making a previous 5 percent pay cut permanent, and accepting an additional 2.5 percent pay cut.”

Housing prices have risen about 7 percent over the last year.

But Parisi said the state’s “broken system of municipal finance” will keep the city from being able to see a significant increase in property tax revenues for years to come.

“Due to the interaction between the Headlee Amendment and Proposal A, if property taxes were magically restored to 2007 levels, it would take 20 years for our city’s revenues to catch up,” she said. “The damage has been done. Even with the additional millages, our revenues have continued to decline.”

City Manager Ed Klobucher said Hazel Park has faced the worst economic outlook of any community in south Oakland County, aside from Royal Oak Township.

“We’ve done a good job maintaining services,” he said, “primarily because everybody has been willing to sacrifice and assume extra duties, but it hasn’t been easy.”

Volunteers have helped the city school district establish a Promise Zone, which provides two-year college scholarships for all graduating seniors accepted to college.

The city has also seen some development that has enhanced other commercial properties in the city, Klobucher said.

Vacancies at retail spaces are being filled, city officials said. And the recent development at Nine Mile and John R – with a CVS pharmacy and Tim Horton’s coffee shop – is bringing more businesses to the area, especially at the Harmony Plaza.

Despite a tax base that eroded over five years until the recent increase in housing prices, Klobucher said city officials and resident volunteers are committed to maintaining the city’s services and hometown spirit.